Sylvania



K. H-OWIE AND W. 0. TAYLOR.

CAM MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLxcATioN H LED FEB. 21, 1920.

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K. HOWIE AND W. 0. TAYLOR.

CAM MECHANISIVI FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATiON FILED FEBZI. 1920.

Patented Aug. 1, 1922,

3 SHEETS-SH EET 2.

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CAM MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES.'

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2l

Patented Aug. 1, 1922.

Liylor,

Aug/

To @ZZ whom t may concern.'

UNITED STATES PATENT CFFICE.

KENNETH HoWIE, 0E 'NoEEIsToWN AND WILLIAM o. 'rAYLoEoE LIMEEICK, PENN- sYLvANIA, AssIGNoEs To WILDIIAN MEG. oo., or NoEaIs'rowN, PENNSYLVANIA,

A. CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CAM MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Auf. i, 1922.

Be it known that we, KENNETH HowIE, resident of Norristown, Pennsylvania, and lWILLIAM O. TAYLOR, resident of Limerick, county of Montgomery, State of Pennsylvania, both citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cam Mechanism for Knitting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to circular knitting machines and it involves the features and combination arrangement of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.V

In the accompanying drawings :y

Fig. 1 is a sectional view taken along the radius of the machine, parts being shown in elevation.

Fig. la is a detail of clamping means.

Fig. 2 is a detail view of one of the yarn guides and the sinkers, showing the feeding of the yarn thereto.

Fig. 2a is a bottom plan view of the yarn guide.

Fig. 3v is an enlarged detail view of the yarn guide and one of the sinkers.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a section of the cam ring showing the waves of the sinkers and individual pressers.

Fig. 4a is a detail.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the cam ring for the needles and means of adjustment. l

Fig. 6 is a face view of the inner side of a section of the cylinder cam ring.4 l Y Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of the cams for operating the sinkers, and pressers;

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic plan view ofv a needle deflecting cam in its relation to the waves of the sinkers and pressers.

Fig. 9 is a detailed view of the needle defiecting cam.

In these drawings 1 is the needle cylinder which in'thepresent illustration is the rotating part and2is the` cylinder cam ring. The spring beard needles are shown at a, there being a single row of these. t is the sinker ring which is mounted on the needle cylinder and carries radially slidable instruments cooperating with the needles as sinkers 5, which also perform the function of web holders, being constructed for this two-fold purpose with a yarn engaging and sinking nose 6 and a web engaging and holding throat 7.

Individual needle beard pressers are shown at 8, held in place by a spring band 9 engaging their notches 10 so thatthe pressers vcan have rocking movement to advance to "and retract from pressing position.

The needles are advanced to receive the yarnby their butts passing along a cam 11 in Fig. 6, and they are drawn down to draw the new loop through the old by the stitch cam 12. This stitch cam is fixed by screwsy 13 to a vertically movable post 14 mounted in the cam ring. The post is pressed upwardly by a spring 15 engaging the projection 16v on the post, and it is adjusted by a rod 17 having a bevelled or tapered end 18 engaging the inclined wall of a V-shaped notch 18 formed in the post. This rod is movably mounted in a bracket 19 held to the cam ring by a set screw 19. The rod is adjusted by a finger wheel 2O having a shank threaded into the bracket and bearing on the end of tlie'rod.

The finger wheel is calibrated for micrometer adjustment, as shown, sothat the stitch cam can be accurately adjusted to accord with the adjustment at other feeds, once the machine is set to get uniform knitting at all ofthe feeds.

The stitch cam 12 yhas a guard cam 22 associated therewith, attached to the same post 14j.' Thisguard prevents overthrow of theneedles as they are drawn down by the stitch cam and thus uniformity in the loop drawing actions is insured. The guard cam is formed in one piece with the needle raising cam 23 which latter initiates the upward movement of thel needle immediately after the new loop is drawn through the old loop just cast off.

Itis desirable to have the stitch cam and the need-le raising cam 23 bear a fixed or definite relation to each other because the upward movement of the needle should begin in a definite relation to the stitch point of the cam 12.

In ordinary knitting practice, when the new loop length is drawn through the old loop, it is customary to advance the web holders to press the fabric back and knock over the loop so that as the needle rises it will pass properly through the loop, while in its knock over position, and while the fabric is held down against the up thrust of the needles. It is therefore of importance that the advancing cam 23 in all the adjustments of the stitch cam 12 bear a fixed relation thereto, so that the needle will not drift unduly after passing the stitch point and fail to rise until after passing the knock over where the fabric is pushed back by the web holders to knock over the loop last formed.

In the present organization the sinkers 5 are advanced by the cam 24, Fig. 7, to sink the yarn between the needles and thus measure olf the new loop lengths. They are retracted by the cam 25 to allow the measured loop leng'ths to be drawn down by the needles through the fabric loops, after which the sinkers are advanced by the cam 26 to cause their throats 7 to engage the fabric and hold it down and to effect theknock over action at the cani point 27,. After passing this knock over7 point the sinkers are allowed to retract slightly but they still maintain their engagement with the fabric until they come around to the next yarn feeding point where they are retracted by the cam 28 to pass the yarnrfeeder. The sinker cams 24 and the group of cams 25, 26, 2T are mounted respectively upon slides or blocks 24', 25 which are slidably mounted in the cam ring to move in parallel slots. rllhese two cam supporting slides or blocks are adjustablealong their guide ways 24, 25 by rods 28, mounted in the cam ring and operated upon by the screw stems 29 of the linger wheels 30, 30 which are calibrated for micrometer adjustments. The turning of the finger wheels will move their screw stems in or out to determine the position of the rods 28. The cam slides or blocks 24 25 have studs or pins 31 extending up therefrom through slots 32 in the cam ring. The upper screw threaded ends of these studs are engaged by nuts 33 in the form of linger buttons. These nuts are loosened when the adjustment of the cam slide is to be made. the linger wheel 3() or 30 is adjusted to move its stem outwardly the cam is movedY outward by the operator taking hold of the linger piece or nut 33 and moving it with. the cam outward until stopped by the pin coming against the end of the screw stem 29 in its newly adjusted position and thereupon the cam slide with its cams can be set in this newly adjusted position by turning the clamp nut or finger piece to draw the parts together.

Of course when the cam slide is to be adjusted inward, the clampV nut 33 is loosened and the linger wheel 30 or 30 is turned to force the rod 28 inward and this will force the cam slide inward also into the position desiree, whereupon it can be clamped by the nut 33. There is a Separate adjustment, like that just described, for both of the cam slides 24 and 25. Y

The linger wheels 30, 30 with their screw stems can be held in any of the positions to which they may be adjusted by clamps 34, F ig. la, having a curved seat 35 to tit the stem 29, and a screw 36 by which the clamp may be drawn against the screw stem. This clamp, with its 'screw is arranged in the cam ring 37.

r1"he two sinker cam plates 24, 25 are interconnected at 40X by a tongue on one litting in a recess in the other, the recess being somewhat wider than the tongue, so that the cam slides can have a certain amount of adjustment individually, the one independent of the other, but only to a limited extent. This is to prevent either cam being adjusted relative to the other to such an extent that a shoulder on one would be thrown out into the path of the sinker butts, which would result in a smash up. The two sets of cams on these plates 24', 25 therefore can not get out of their prescribed relations within certain limits.

This cam ring is supported upon a ring 37 which in turn is supported by the standards 37 from the base of the machine.

The cam 38 for the pressers is carried on or formed with a stem or plate 39 guided in the cani ring and this cam is adjustable Vradially by a set of devices like those above described consisting of a micrometer screw 29, a pin 28a and a clamp nut or finger piece 33a.

The presser cam operates upon the upper ends of the pressers and rocks them radially inward `into position yto press the needle beards and after passing the cam the pressers are rocked outwardly by the spring band.

The thread guide consists of a sheet metal member 40 bent back upon itself with a soace between its two sides for the passage of the yarn.

This thread guide is carried by an arm or member' 41. pivoted at 42 to a block 43 secured to the cam ring. The arm has a broadened upper end curved overV at 44 and having guide eyes 45 for the yarns. rlhe pivoted arm is held in position against a stop pin 46 by a spring pin 47 having a conical end engaging a corresponding` recess in the arm. Pressure exerted upon the'arm suliicient toovercome therholding force of the spring pin will throw the arm with its yarn guide backward and lift the yarn guide 4l from its yarn feeding position shown in Fig. 2. It will be noticed that the end of the yarn guide when in normal position is in the same horizontal plane in which the sinkers are arranged, but as shown in the plan view, F ig. 4, when the sinkers arrive at the position where the yarn guide is located, they are retracted as indicated by the sinker wave s, s', in said Fig. ll, so as to pass outside of the said guide after which the sinkers are advanced as at s2 to sink the yarn between the needles. The edge of the yarn guide is inclined downwardly at 41a and should a sinker, by reason of breakage of its butt, not be retracted to proper position and therefore strike the yarn guide, the latter will be'swung up into the position substantially as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the yarn will be lifted from feeding position and its normal draft will be reduced and the stop motion therefor will be operated to stop the machine.

Aeis an example of a suitable stop motion which may be used for this purpose, lwe would mention that disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States, No. 1,316,929, Sept. 23, 1919.

l/Ve have illustrated herein at A, Fig. l, the ring and one of the yarn fingers of the said stop motion. When the draft on the yarn is materially reduced or ceases, this finger will drop and operate the stop motion connections to stop the machine.

The yarn guide is adapted to direct a main and a plating yarn to the needles as indicated in Fig. 2. @ne of these yarns is guided under the front wall 41X of the yarn guide arm and the other yarn is directed below the division piece 41h which lies between the sides of the yarn guide and is riveted or pinned thereto.

The relation of the yarn guide (when in operative position) to the sinkers is shown in Figs. l, 2,and 3. The two yarns are kept widely separated as they emerge from the yarn guide arm and thus they will be positioned in definite relation in the recess of the sinker nose as indicated in Fig. 3. The yarn guide reaches down to a point where the upper yarn feeds at a slight angle downwardly to the sinker nose. The sinker nose is blunt and provided with a shallow recess. No special reliance is placed on the incline of the sinker nose to catch and direct the yarn down to the bottom of the recess in the nose because the yarn` feed finger positions the yarn at about the level of the said sinker recess. By reason of this the length of stroke of the sinker is kept at a minimum.

.as shown in Fig. l, the yarn guide is arranged at a slight inclination so that its lower end will be positioned close to the stem of the needle.

Ve may employ a needle deflecting cam 48 to engage the backs ofthe needles, Figs. S and 9, and press them slightly outward. This cam will true up any bent needles. lt will also compensatefor any irregularities in the needle cylinder by causing the needles to move in a definite path at the point where the yarn is being fed thereto and is being measured off by the sinkers across the needle stems.

This cam will divide the amount of sinkmovement between the sinkers and the needles and we are thus enabled to employ a low angle cam for advancing the sinkers which do not have to be moved so far forward as would be the case were the needles not made to take upon themselves a portion of .this yarn measuring duty. Furthermore the loop lengths are uniform.

As shown in Fig. 8, the sinker wave is modified from that shown in Fig. l because of the deflection of the needle just mentioned. When the needle is deflected outwardly for the measuring action referred to above, the sinkers advance between the needles and measure off the loop lengths across the stems of these deflected needles. Then, as the needles go back to normal position, the sinkers follow them up so as to maintain control of the measured loop lengths until they are taken by the hook of the needle.

le provide means for insuring the return of the pressers to normal position before they reach the yarn ,guide so that there will be no presser in displaced position to strike the guide.

This Vconsists of a plate 50 secured to the cam ring and slightly inclined in respect to the path of the pressers, as shown in Fig. 4, so that if any presser is displaced as shown at 5l it will be returned to normal position before reaching the yarn guide. The presser wave is indicated in Fig. 4l: at p. The needles are indicated Aat n.

Reverting lto the means for adjusting the various cams it will be understood that in a machine having a number of feeds there will be a set of the micrometer adjusting devices at each feed. rlhe cam rings will be composed of removable sections. One of these is indicated in Fig. d and the radial lines of division between the removable sections is indicated at 52. Each section carries a yarn guide, a set of sinker cams, a presse cam, a presser lining up or restoring plate and a needle deflecting plate, if this is used, and each section carries a set of micrometer adjusting devices, so that like adjustments at all the feeds can be made with precision, once the parts have been set to uniform knitting at all of the feeds. For this purpose the finger wheels of the micrometer adjustments have their calibrated portions adapted to be adjusted so that all may be similarly set at the same scale mark when uniform knitting has been attained at all the feeds.

ln other werds, in setting the machine for uniform knitting, it may be found necessary to turn the micrometer device at one feed through a greater angle than that at anarities in the manutacture ot' the parts This micrometer adjustment involves the ring 30a, Fig. 4, carrying the scale marks, plate 30h and a screw 30X. By loosening the screw the ring 30 can be turned to bring the desired scale mark to the pointer c so that al1 ot the micrometers may be madeto read alike. The screw is tightened to clamp the ring 30CL between the plate 30h and the knurled flange.

To lengthen the stitch This is done by adjusting the cam 24 -for which purpose the locking screw 36 belonging` to this cam is loosened, and then the adjusting screw 29 belonging to this cam is turned in to the desired extent, and when the intended position is reached the locking screw 36 is again tightened up to set the adjusting screw in its new position. A similar procedure is gone through in connection with the knock over cam 27, and the needle pull down cam is also adjusted.

To shorten the stitch Loosen the locking screw 36 belonging to the cam 24 and turn back on the corresponding adjusting screw 29 and this outward adjustment ot this screw is carried to more than the extent necessary for the exact position ot' the cam. Next loosen the knurled nut 33 belonging to this set of adjusting devices and pull out on this nut until the cam is arrested by the adjusting screw 29 or rather by coming against the pin 28 associated with said screw, then tighten the knurled nut 33 and turn in on the adjusting screw 29 to the desired reading on the micrometer scale and then lock in place by turning the screw 36. Make corresponding adjustments with the knock over cam and the needle pull down cam.

For example, assume that the reading of the stitch cam adjusting screw is 80, and it is desired to shorten the stitch l0 graduations, we loosen the locking screw 36, turn the adjusting screw 29 back an excess amount, say to the reading 30, then loosen knurled nut 33 and pull it back as tar as it will go, that is until the cam is arrested by the screw 29, or its pin 28', then tighten nut 33 and turn in an adjusting screw 29 until it reads and lock in place by screw 36.

= feed, in order to .compensate for ir Certain Vfeatures disclosed herein have becn made the snbject of divisional applications, nameiy, detector and stop motion n/ieans, liled A gust 8th, i921, Serial'No. 490,047; yarn lifeeding means, tiled August 8th, 192k Serial No. 490,648; and yarn sinking mechanism, iledt-ugnst 8th, 1921, Serial No. 490,6l9.

We claim as our invention:

i i multiple teed knitting machine comprising needles, instruments co-operating with the needles in the knitting operation, cams for the needles, cams tor said instruments and micrometer adjusting means at each feed for each of the said cams, said n'iicrometer means being adjustable to present like indications after the parts are initially set, substantially as described.

2. iii multiple te d knitting machine comprising needles, instruments co-operating therewith in the knitting operation, cams 'i'or the needles, cams tor said instruments and micrometer adjusting means at each teed tor ear-h otI the said cams, said micrometer means having their calibrate portions adjustable, so that all may be set at corre spending scale marks when the cams have been set to'rcompensate for irregularities in the manufacture ot the parts, substantially Y as described.

3. in combination in a knitting machine, needles, instruments co-operating with the needles in the knittingl operation, cams for the needles, a cam ring, a cam for said instruments mounted on said ring and means for adjusting the latter cam, comprising a screw connected therewith and extending radiallyvv ot the cam ring and a clamp nut,

Y the cani ring being slotted and the cam having a stud passing through the slot and engaged by the said nut, substantially as described,

et. In combination in a knitting machine,

needles. instruments co-operating with the needles in the knitting operation, cams for the needles, a cam ring, a cam for said instruments and means for adjusting the latter cani, comprising a screw extending` radiall).v ot the cam ring, and a clamp nut, the (am ring being slotted and the cam having stud passing-through the slot and engaged by the said nut, and a loose pin extending coaxially with and engaged by the screw and bearing on the cam, substantially as described.

n combination. needles, instruments .io-operating with and reciprocating between the needles` a cam ring, a pair of cams for operating the instruments, said cams being interconnected whereby the adjusting movement of one is limited by the other and means whereby each cam may be adjusted relative to the other or both adjusted and their relation maintained to each other 6. In combination, needles, instruments cci-operating with and reciprocating between the needles, a cam ring,v a pair ot cams for operating the instruments, said cams being interconnected whereby the adjusting movement ot one is limited by the other and means i /reby each cam may be adjusted relative "to the other or both adjusted and their relation maintained to each other, said cams being interconnected by a projection on one fitting in a notch, wider than the projection, in the other, substantially as described.

T. ln combination, spring beard needles, individual pressers therefor, instruments reciprocating between the needles, cams tor operating the said instruments, a cam for the pressers having a stem, a cam ring, having a slot, said stem having a stud extending through the slot, a clamp nut on the stem, a micrometer screw extending in line with the stem and carried by 'the cam ring 'for adjustiiig the presser cam, substantially as described.

8. ln combination in a circular multiple 'feed knitting machine, a sectional cam ring, cams carried by each section, horizontally extending micrometer screws mounted in the ring sections for adjusting the cams, means extending from the cams up through the sections for clamping the cams in adjusted position, said micrometer screws having their calibrated portions individually adjustable to be set to Zero without turning the screws, and Vclamping means for the screws, substantially as described.

9. In combination in a circular multiple feed knitting machine, a sectional cam ring, cams carried by each section, horizontally extending micrometer screws mounted in the ring sections for adjusting the cams, clamping means for the screws extending up through the cam ring and having means at their upper ends by which they may be operated, said micrometer screws having their calibrated portions individually adjustable to be set to zero while said screws are held by the clamping means, substantially as described.

l0. ln combination in a multiple feed knitting machine, knitting instruments, cam means at each feed, micrometer screw adjusting means at each feed for the cam means, and clamping means for each micrometer screw, each micrometer screw being individually adjustable as to its indications, so that they may be set at zero after the cams are initially set and the screws clamped, substantially as described.

Ill.. A multiple feed knitting machine comprising knitting instruments, cams at the several feeds :tor said knitting instruments, micrometer adjusting means at each feed for the cams, each of said micrometer means being adjustable as to its indications to present like readings after the cams are initially set.

l2. A multiple reed knitting machine comprising knitting instruments, cams for the knitting instruments, a cam ring, movable clamping means in the cam ring 'for the cams and micrometer screws for adjusting the cams, said screws being capable ot being adjusted outwardly without retractihg the cams, said clamping means being accessible for manual operation from the exposed side ot the cam ring and serving as handles for moving the cams in relation to the knitting instrument.

ln testimony whereof, we affix our signatures.

` KENNETH HOWIE.

`WILLIAM O. TAYLOR. 

